


Wake Me Up

by patton_pending



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Nightmares, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 00:03:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patton_pending/pseuds/patton_pending
Summary: Virgil is usually much better at dealing with his nightmares. However, this particular nightmare is too much for even him to deal with.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton
Comments: 6
Kudos: 78





	Wake Me Up

Virgil awoke with a start. He'd gotten used to the nightmares by now but sometimes they got a bit too vivid. A bit too personal. 

He wanted to make sure his boyfriends were okay but, checking the time, he knew they'd all still be asleep. Besides, he knew it was illogical to think something was wrong anyway. It was only a dream. It was only a nightmare. 

It wasn't real, it wasn't real, it wasn't real. 

_Nightmares are nothing more than unpleasant hallucinations produced by your brain during REM sleep_, Logan's voice echoed in Virgil's head. He knew it was true, he knew everything was fine, but what if something _did_ happen? 

Something could have happened to the others and he wouldn't have known because he'd been asleep. They could be hurt, or worse, dead. Then again, given that they are all metaphysical embodiments of a single personality, they couldn't exactly die. Not unless Thomas himself dies, and it was fairly obvious that he was fine. 

Thomas _was_ fine, right? 

He checked to make sure everything was as it should have been, then double checked, then triple checked. Nothing was wrong. Virgil repeated this in his head over and over again, hoping to calm himself down. 

He didn't go back to sleep that night. 

Once morning rolled around, Patton had knocked on Virgil's door to let him know breakfast was ready. He was thankful that Patton at least sounded okay. He got ready to go downstairs and did a few breathing exercises before entering the dining area. Logan was at the table, drinking his daily mug of coffee as Patton set a plate in front of him and kissed his cheek. His smile brightened as Virgil walked in. 

"Mornin', kiddo!" He set a plate at Virgil's usual seat at the table next to Logan and placed a kiss on his cheek, but Virgil quickly took him by the shoulders and kissed him on the lips. Patton yelped at the unexpected kiss but didn't seem to mind as he kissed him back. Virgil pulled away and forced a small smile. 

"Morning, Pat," he murmured. 

He took his seat by Logan, who watched him with a slightly raised eyebrow. Virgil raised his own eyebrow in a silent question, Logan responding by biting his lower lip, his eyes flicking down towards Virgil's for a second. Virgil leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Logan's lips, who was quick to reciprocate. The two of them had become quite the masters of silent communication over the years. 

"What's got you all affectionate this morning, Virge?" Patton asked with a smile as he set Roman's plate on the table, who Virgil noticed was absent. He tried not to overthink it as he knew Roman's morning routine took the better part of an hour. 

"I dunno," Virgil replied with a shrug. "Just... feel like it, I guess." He was definitely not ready to explain that the horrendous nightmare he'd had was making him grateful for the fact that everyone was alive at the moment. Well, almost everyone. 

_Wait, what? No, Roman's alive, he'll be down in a minute._

But then a troubling thought popped into his head. _What if he_ won't_?_

He decided not to focus on that and instead focused on eating. Roman is fine, he has to be. It would have been obvious if something was wrong with Roman because he would have been a gigantic drama queen about whatever the issue was. 

He's fine. Everything's fine. 

Virgil was barely able to listen to whatever Patton and Logan were talking about because he was focusing so hard on not focusing on Roman that all he could focus on was Roman. He loathed the way his brain worked. 

_Roman's fine, he has to be. Roman is fine, Roman is fine, Roman is_—

"Are you alright, Virgil?" Logan asked, snapping him from his thoughts. He and Patton were both giving Virgil looks of concern, Virgil internally cursing himself for being so obvious. 

"I-I'm fine. Really, no big deal." After a moment's hesitation, he spoke again. "Say, what's taking Roman so long, huh?" He tried to pass it off as a casual question, but based on the looks he received from Logan and Patton, he must have sounded more anxious than intended. 

"He's just getting ready, kiddo," Patton replied. "No need to worry."

"Worry? Who said I was worried? I'm not worried. Why would I be worried about Roman? That... that'd be stupid." He forced a laugh as he ate some more food, though he didn't seem to convince them.

_Roman could be in danger right now and you're eating breakfast_, his thoughts berated him. _What if you find out he died and it's all because you didn't bother to check on him? You could've saved him if you'd just checked on him_. 

_No,_ Virgil fought back. _We literally can't die. He's fine_. 

_Wouldn't count on it. Have you already forgotten what happened last night? It was a damn bloodbath_. 

Virgil continued to be an anxious mess as usual. 

"Virgil, you need to breathe—"

"**I'm breathing**!" Virgil snapped in his double voice, cutting Logan off. He quickly slapped his hand over his mouth. He wasn't entirely sure where the outburst had come from. 

"Kiddo, did something—"

"I'm gonna see what's holding Roman up," Virgil muttered, quickly leaving the dining room and heading up the stairs. 

_Everything is fine, I'm being ridiculous_, Virgil thought. _But... what if I'm_ not_?_

Virgil's eyes filled with tears as his mind began to race with horrid thoughts of the things that could have happened to Roman. He knew, objectively, it was ridiculous, but he also knew that either way, he needed to see with his own eyes that Roman was alive and well. 

Virgil turned a corner and bumped into Roman — quite literally. 

"Woah, good morning, emo nightmare!" Roman greeted with an amused smile. Virgil barely had time to notice his smile falter before he practically threw himself into the prince's arms and sobbed into his chest. Roman held him tight, soothingly rubbing his back. 

_He's fine. Princey's fine. Everything's fine._

"It's alright, storm cloud, I'm here." Roman murmured into his ear. 

"Virge, honey?" Patton's voice cause an inexplicable wave of guilt to crash over him. Maybe if he had explained that he had a nightmare... well, it was too late to dwell on that now. 

Virgil took a few deep breaths. He had calmed a bit but was still slightly shaken. And if he was being honest with himself, rather embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry," he murmured into Roman's chest, whose arms tightened a bit around him. 

"No, no, don't apologise," he whispered. "You're okay. Do you mind explaining what happened?"

He didn't particularly mind, but he knew his reasoning was idiotic. He felt like such a fool for playing into his thoughts like that. 

"It's really dumb."

"I'm sure that's not true, Virgil," Logan quickly replied. "Perhaps we should go to the dining room and discuss what occurred. Is that alright with you, raindrop?" he asked, Virgil smiling at the pet name as he gave an affirmative nod. 

They all headed downstairs, Virgil keeping a hold of Roman's hand the whole way down. They each resumed their seats at the table, Roman sitting by Virgil's side and keeping a firm grip on his hand. 

"I... I just... had a stupid nightmare last night. You guys—" he glanced at all of them, seeing their sympathetic expressions, before averting his gaze elsewhere. "You guys... got hurt." His voice cracked at the end and he wanted to fling himself into a supernova. Why was he getting so emotional over something that didn't happen?

"Oh, sweetheart," Patton murmured sadly. "I'm so sorry, that must've been so scary."

"It was just a dream, though," Virgil reminded him. "It wasn't real so it shouldn't have messed me up this much. I'm just overreacting."

"Darling," Logan began. "Given the fact that you are the embodiment of pure anxiety, I would hardly call this an overreaction. You were subjected to an unpleasant stimulus via nightmare, and despite its fabricated nature, you became overrun with... well, anxiety. You can hardly be blamed for your reaction; I can only imagine how distressing it must have been to see your loved ones hurt, even in dream form."

Virgil had to admit that he had a point. The nightmare was particularly vivid. He was so convinced that it was real that he pinched himself in the dream and that didn't even wake him up. 

"I just... I wish I would have gotten up to make sure you were okay. I just... sat in my bed feeling sorry for myself. I'm so selfish, I'm sorry."

"That is _not_ true, sweetie!" Patton said sternly, though still affectionately. "That does not make you selfish at all! You are the furthest thing from selfish there could possibly be!" 

"Patton is correct," Logan concurred. "Maybe you felt as though checking on us was the right thing to do, but you still knew on some level that it wasn't necessary. You are, in no way, selfish for your actions. Besides, I can only imagine how frightened you must have felt. Part of you must have felt as though leaving your room would have been dangerous." 

"My love," Roman began. "If one of us had a nightmare that you got hurt, would you feel we were selfish for not checking on you?"

"Well... no," Virgil admitted. "But I strive to protect you guys, and Thomas too. If I can't get over a stupid dream and make sure you guys are safe, then what kind of protector am I?" 

"Darling, did you truly believe something was wrong?" Logan asked. 

"I mean... no, I just thought I was overreacting and getting... irrational."

"You can't possibly fault yourself for that. You attempted to use reason in order to assuage your anxious thoughts, and that is actually commendable. You understood that what you experienced existed only within your head, and you knew that no action needed to be carried out."

With sudden clarity, Virgil understood. He wasn't selfish, he was terrified. He couldn't help but grin to himself a bit. 

"Yeah, I... yeah. Thanks, L. Thanks, all of you."

"Expressions of gratitude are completely unnecessary, my dear."

"Yeah, kiddo," Patton agreed. "We love you and wanna help you out when you're feelin' down." 

"Is there anything you need, storm cloud?" Roman asked before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

"I... I don't know. I know that I don't wanna be alone, though." 

"Don't you worry, kiddo, we'll stay right by your side until you're sick of us!" Patton declared, getting a small smile from Virgil. 

"Thanks, Pat."

"How about this?" Roman began softly. "We all go to the living room and have a big movie marathon. We can even wear onesies if you'd like. How does that sound, my sweet?"

"Yeah," Virgil murmured with a grin. "That sounds good. Thanks."

"There's no need for thanks, sweet crow." Roman kissed the top of Virgil's head once more. 

Patton and Logan got the dining room cleaned up, Virgil offering to help only to be practically dragged into the living room by Roman. They changed into onesies in a snap, Roman donning his lion onesie whilst Virgil wore his raccoon onesie. They took a seat on the couch, Roman holding Virgil close. It didn't escape Virgil's notice that Roman was being even clingier than usual, but he couldn't exactly blame him. 

"Ro?" he murmured. 

"Yes, my love?" 

"I love you." 

He smiled up at Roman, who returned the smile before leaning down and gently kissing him. They maintained that position for a few moments before they had to break the kiss to smile. In Virgil's opinion, which he would take to the grave, the best kinds of kisses had to be broken to smile. 

"Just so you're aware," Roman began lowly. "I love you more."

"Don't start that competitive shit with me, Princey," Virgil retorted with a soft laugh. 

"It's true, though. I've loved you from the very moment I laid eyes on you." Virgil rolled his eyes at that. 

"Lie."

"I mean it. I only antagonised you because I thought I had to for Thomas's sake. I'm glad I turned out to be wrong." He kissed Virgil's lips once more. "The love I carry in my heart for you burns brighter than a thousand suns, my dark angel." 

"Now you're just actively _trying_ to make me vomit," Virgil retorted, Roman laughing at that. 

"What would I do without you?"

"Probably crash and burn," he replied sarcastically. Roman scoffed as he touched his forehead against Virgil's. 

Patton and Logan walked in wearing their cat and unicorn onesies, respectively, and sat on the couch. Logan sat to Roman's right while Patton sat to Virgil's left. 

They decided to start with one of Patton's more obscure favourites, _Oliver & Company_. Patton was visibly excited, hardly able to keep still. Virgil couldn't help but laugh as he wrapped an arm around Patton's waist. A distinctive pink colour overtook his cheeks and Virgil found it quite endearing. Patton rested his head on Virgil's shoulder, who then felt his own face heat up. 

A few minutes into the movie and Virgil suddenly felt quite drowsy, seemingly out of nowhere. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep last night, so it made sense in hindsight. He pressed his cheek against Patton’s head and let his eyes drift closed. 

He wished that being surrounded by his loved ones prevented him from having another nightmare as he dozed off. While that was certainly not true, he was more than happy that this particular nightmare was beyond manageable. 

And it certainly helped that his boyfriends were there to comfort him when he woke back up.


End file.
